After several minutes of persuasion, Alois had left Claude's bedroom for (what Claude had assured him was) a more comfortable perch on the sofa. Claude sighed as he finished dressing. He wasn't really sure what to think about Alois' sudden reappearance in his life. There wasn't really much that he felt he could think. It seemed the only sane thought in his head was telling to gather his wits about him.
Alois was such a strange boy; no matter how much he managed to piss you off, he'd find ways to make it up to you. Right now, Alois was managing to piss Claude off, even though he hadn't really done much. Yet at the same time, seeing Alois wasn't all that unwelcome, either. Claude wasn't above re-opening communications with Alois, as long as the boy showed signs that he'd moved on. In fact, Claude wasn't even considering opening up the possibility of anything other than friendship with the young boy. It had been a year since their relationship, after all. If Claude had moved on, who's to say Alois hadn't? The boy had plenty of spunk, energy, and was certainly attractive. He chided himself, realizing that Alois hadn't really been trying to "re-kindle" a fire with Claude. This was, so far, nothing more than a friendly visit.
Claude exited his room with his hands balled tightly into fists, though he hardly noticed. Alois' eyes brightened as he saw the older man walk into the room and sit next to him.
"You know how I just told you you looked great?" Alois asked with a mischievous smile. "Well, I lied. You kinda look like shit." Alois giggled, and Claude couldn't help but join in with the laughter. If Alois was joking around, that meant he didn't take the whole situation too seriously. And he wasn't trying too hard to impress Claude.
"Well it's not every day I survive a bar fight," Claude smiled with mock pride. "I was pretty kick ass, if I may say so myself."
"Who beat up the guy for you?" Alois asked, hugging a couch pillow to his chest.
"What are you talking about? Is it really that hard to believe that I won a fight?" Claude asked, slightly offended. Alois just let out another tinkling laugh.
"Oh, c'mon, Claude. I know you wanna be Mr. Tough Guy, but you just don't have it in you. When we dated and that guy was hitting on me, you tried to be my knight in shining armor and ended up getting your ass kicked. It can't be too much different now," Alois smiled at the memory.
"You told me it was more of an 'A for effort' situation. At least I got that guy to stop calling you whatever it was," Claude said, remembering that night all too well.
"Hot buns, or something lame like that," Alois said. "Yeah, I'm glad that stopped."
"That guy was a creep," Claude said, shuddering a little. "He was way too old for you anyway."
"Says you, Mr. Cradle-Robber," Alois laughed, throwing his pillow at Claude.
"Okay," Claude said, barely dodging the pillow. "I would greatly appreciate it if we could stop beating up my already heavily wounded pride. How are things with you, then, Mister Perfect?"
"Well," said Alois leaning his head on Claude's shoulder. "Basically high school blows chunks. All the kids want to do is talk shit about everyone. And then there's all the actual work. I really don't know how you managed to do it."
Alois continued talking, filling up the silence. Talking was a habit of Alois' and towards the end of their relationship, Claude had found it rather irritating. For some reason, it was nice to hear the kid talk again. Talk like old times. Claude listened; sometimes he listened to the actual words coming from Alois' mouth, sometimes he listened to the sound of his voice, sometimes he listened for minutes before Alois took a breath. The nostalgia of it all made Claude wonder why he'd been so pissed off to see Alois in the first place. Sure, it was unexpected, but he was being the prick in this situation. Alois had obviously wanted nothing more than to just talk. To make amends. To fix their broken and fragmented relationship. It had been so long since Claude had been with anybody he romantically cared for (and that returned that sentiment) that the sudden companionship was nice. What had he been so afraid of? As he listened to Alois talk, a flood of memories came back. They were memories that he originally remembered as painful or dull. He'd only been remembering them wrong. When he was with Alois, nothing was dull.
"-too long before I get that high school diploma in my hand. God. But aside from getting in bar fights, what have you been up to?" Alois asked, finally allowing the attention to shift back to Claude. Claude shrugged, grinning widely.
"Oh, just tutoring and working. Trying to stay in school and pay the bills."
"Dude, your lip is bleeding. You're not supposed to smile, you idiot," Alois laughed. Claude felt his lip, it had indeed split open again, though the bleeding wasn't heavy. He hadn't really noticed how much it had been hurting.
Alois jumped off the couch. "Don't move, you invalid. I got this." He skipped off into the kitchen and returned moments later with a wet paper towel and a small pack of frozen peas wrapped in a towel. He half straddled, half stood in front of Claude, using the wet paper towel to wipe off Claude's lip. He gently dabbed, but the slight touch made Claude wince a little. "Don't be a pussy," Alois laughed, though he made more of an effort to be gentle.
"I'm not being a pussy," Claude protested. "My lip is split and friggin' hurts. You're being too violent, nurse." Claude smiled again. Alois gently slapped his cheek.
"I told you to stop smiling," he laughed. "Here," Alois gently placed the ice pack up to Claude's lip. The cool ice brought immediate relief. Claude sighed. "Hold that there until I get back." Alois left the room with the paper towel. Claude heard the sink turn on and then off again before Alois returned to the room. "How does it feel?" he asked.
"Better," Claude said, removing the ice. His lip certainly didn't hurt enough to keep ice on it for more than a minute. Besides, the bleeding had stopped rather quickly. "What's the verdict? Am I going to live?"
Alois leaned forward to examine Claude's lip, stroking an imaginary beard. He placed one of his cold, slender fingers gently on Claude's lip.
"Does this hurt?" he asked. Claude shook his head. Alois added a little more pressure with his finger. "Now?" he asked again. Claude shook his head. Alois leaned in and gently kissed him. Claude knew it was coming. But, he wasn't as repulsed by the idea of kissing Alois as he would have been half an hour ago. The two were able to fall right back into where they left off.
Claude returned Alois' kisses, gently as well. He'd forgotten how much he missed the feel of Alois' lips against his. They were soft, warm. Alois settled onto Claude's lap as their kissing continued. Claude was completely content except for the nagging voice at the back of his head, trying to remind him of-
"Hey, Claude," Hannah's voice interrupted, causing Claude and Alois to jump. "I see that you've learned that Alois is in town." Claude tried to read her expression, but the only adjective he could come up with to describe it was disappointment. He was in for a long scolding that was for sure.
"Well, I think you'll be alright, just follow doctor's orders and don't smile for a few days," Alois smiled. He stood. "I gotta run. I'm gonna meet Luka at Subway for lunch. See you around, Claude. Hanna," he nodded in parting.
Hannah waited for the sound of the closing door before she rounded on Claude.
"Um, what in the hell?"
A\N: So, no lie, I fell off the face of the planet. Sorry about that. It wasn't writer's block or anything. I was just really lazy and really busy. BUT, I started writing this chapter, and forgot how much I loved this story. So I AM BACK. And my goal is to never leave this hanging for several months on end. Seriously. And thanks for all the positive feedback in my absence. You guys, you're just too cool... :)
